Tether experts will be part of the industry innovation in the U.K., as the nation plans to adopt stablecoins as a means of payment.
New GBP-Pegged Stablecoin (GBPT) Coming in July
The biggest stablecoin company, Tether, is expanding rapidly and is now planning to unveil a new crypto coin that is pegged to the British pound sterling (GBP).
Tether officially announced the upcoming GBP-pegged stablecoin, which will go by the name GBPT. The new coin is going to be launched in July and will initially be based on the Ethereum blockchain.
GBPT is going to be a stable coin that is pegged on a 1:1 ratio to the GBP currency, targeting a faster and cheaper method for asset transfer. GBPT joins Tether’s larger family of fiat-pegged tokens, including:
- Tether (USDT) tokens: This is the largest stablecoin based on market capitalization.
- euro-pegged token (EURT).
- Offshore Chinese yuan-pegged token (CNHT).
- The newly launched Mexican peso-pegged stablecoin.
GBPT is being developed by the same team of experts that worked on Tether USDT. “We hope to help lead this innovation by providing cryptocurrency users worldwide with access to a GBP-denominated stablecoin issued by the largest stablecoin issuer … Tether is ready and willing to work with U.K. regulators to make this goal a reality and looks forward to the continued adoption of Tether stablecoins,” read a statement from Tether.
GBPT Launch Coming Amid Recent USDT’s Slump in Market Capitalization
According to the chief technological officer Paolo Ardoino, the U.K. is an important market in driving the next wave of industrial transformation. In April, HM Treasury in April 2022 announced the plans to make the nation a global crypto hub and bring stablecoins into the main regulatory framework. The country is also aiming to amend the regulatory framework to add stablecoins as a method of payment, according to the United Kingdom’s Economic and Finance Ministry.
GBPT is being launched amid the recent rapid drop of USDT’s market cap to below USD70 billion. In May 2022, the market cap of Tether had grown to USD80 billion.
Tether’s declining market cap is a casualty of the current bear market uncertainty about stablecoins, which was triggered by the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD. Remember that unlike algorithmic stablecoins, which are supported by other crypto assets, asset-backed stablecoins are backed by cash or cash-equivalents like bank deposits and Treasury bills.
